Pay it forward

denverpilot

denverpilot

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DenverPilot
How many of you have been involved in one of these things where someone pays for the next person in line or similar?

Last night I grab coffee and smokes from a 7-11 and some huge athletic dude comes up to my Yukon drivers side window saying, “Hey man, you want $15 in gas?”

I’m wondering (because of the neighborhood) what the scam is, but the answer is of course, “Sure...” as I wonder what he’s up to.

He then tells me to hurry over to pump 3, there’s $15 in gas pre-paid on it. Some guy he bought gas for drove off.

Now I’m really thinking scam but it won’t hurt to drive over to a pump. He says there’s some time limit on the pump so I should hurry.

I move the truck and sure enough the pump says “$15 pre-paid” on the screen. Then it times out and beeps and disappears.

Big dude had gone back inside and I see him talking to the clerk (who had a little difficulty with English but they’re a nice family who owns the franchise, I’ve been here before and talked to them). They both wave and smile and make some unintelligible hand signals, so knowing how this pump works, I wait and about 20 seconds later it says it has “$15 pre-paid” again.

I turn it on and pump the gas.

Big dude comes out smiling and shakes my hand and says he saw some kid come in and buy $4 worth of gas and he told the clerk to make it $20 as a “pay it forward” thing, but it backfired. Kid either had an almost full tank or didn’t see the pre-pay, hit $5, and drove off in a hurry. Probably thought he stole a $1 in gas because the pump didn’t stop, and didn’t have the extra $1. Poor kid zoomed off and left $15 unaccounted for.

So big guy found me and asked if I wanted the remainder. The clerk was VERY confused by all of this as he’d never seen a “pay it forward” before and big guy said he was laughing the whole time trying to figure out if big guy was stoned or drunk or just stupid, but kept complying with his request to give away his $20.

So anyway. Big guy tells me to promise to continue to pay it forward (anybody need $15? Heh...) and I say I will, and thanks, and he wanders off all happy across the street to a hotel nearby. No idea why he was there or what started the whole thing, but the guy was probably a business traveler who had his running shorts and t-shirt on for the evening and decided to head across the street from his boring business area McHotel to grab something at the 7-11 and ended up with an adventure, trying to give away $20.

So how about you? Ever been the recipient of or a giver of a “pay it forward”?

Judging by this guy’s experience, sometimes it’s HARD to give someone $20. Hahahaha. That kid zoomed outta there. And I’ll probably buy someone $15 in gas here soon, but I’ll set aside extra time for “schenannigans” apparently. :)
 
Hard to say. I handed some kid a $20 once at the intersection corner just because I felt like giving, and I generally don't, and he asked "you realize what you are giving me, right?"

Yeah, I realized. I guess I gave it to him because I felt he had the capacity to pull it together and take off from there. Generally I do not feel that way. Maybe he was scamming me. Of course he was scamming me. But, pay it forward.
 
I’ve paid for meals for the people behind me before. Been on the receiving end, too.

I don’t just hand out money though. I’ve offered to buy food for the corner-standind window lickers before and been turned down, even though the sign says need $ for food.

So, chump don’t want no help, chump don’t get no help.
 
Yup, been on the receiving end and the giving end.
 
TCABM said:
I don’t just hand out money though. I’ve offered to buy food for the corner-standind window lickers before and been turned down, even though the sign says need $ for food.
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Having worked and lived at as a resident employee at a homeless shelter in the far distant past, I always bought food for anyone who asked, but never cash. Cash was going straight to the liquor store down the block, no matter how good and rehearsed the story sounded.

And some of the acting really was as good or better than anything you’ll ever see out of Hollywood.

I always chuckle when I see @bbchien ‘s “You will not lie to me or we will no longer be doing business.” rule for the addicts he works with. There’s really no other way to handle addicts. Sobriety and no lies, or we’re done and you’re headed for a whole new level of “rock bottom”.

Anyway back to the pay it forward thing...

Does anyone else feel a little weird doing it in suburbia? I mean, yeah, there’s people everywhere who need a little help and a better day today than their usual, but I kinda get weirded out when people are doing it in a Starbucks drive thru and everyone in it is driving a Lexus or Mercedes. Heh. Starbucks seems like the last place I’d say “pay for the person behind me”.

Thoughts?

The deep in the heart of the city in a not-so-wealthy area gas station, I get doing that. And even then I did try to politely decline the big guy’s offer. He was insistent and nobody else pulled in to buy gas for the ten minutes this all took, so I ended up not turning him down, and it made him happy.

But buying me $15 in gas is a little weird in my current fiscal state. I wasn’t exactly going to bust the balance sheet out and argue my Net Worth at a 7-11.

But how do y’all feel about this whole thing when it’s a bunch of yuppie suburbanites buying each other over priced coffee? LOL.
 
denverpilot said:
But how do y’all feel about this whole thing when it’s a bunch of yuppie suburbanites buying each other over priced coffee? LOL.
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It sounds like an episode of South Park. One where Stan's father is driving a Prius and sniffing his own farts. On a side note, Scambucks is slated to close 150 locations soon. Yippee. Or is that yuppie?
 
I am a dip**** but this is a true story. I pay it forward.

I was in line behind a guy at the vet 2 weeks ago.
He said his dog had been hurt and needed help.

Vet said X rays, exam, and likely pills would be $$$
The guy said "I lost my job so I will just keep an eye on him and if he looks like he is really hurting, I will bring him in but I can't really do all that. how much for just X ray?"
Vet says $$ the guy says "I'll go home and think if i can swing that"

He left.

I went to the counter and said "what kind of dog does that guy have?"
She says some breed, I have no idea.

I said "That's my favorite type of dog. Please call him and tell him his vet bill is covered"
I gave her $$$.

I got my dog her pills and went back to work.

The next day the vet calls and said "We called him and told him. He brought in his dog and was crying the whole time repeating "I have a guardian angel, I am going to find a way to return the favor when I get on my feet, or I will find a way to pay it forward"

I don't really buy into signs, and a lot of things but I heard the price and heard he wasn't in a position to help his buddy.
I kept thinking about how that wasn't going to put me in a bind and maybe that is why I was in line behind him.

His dog turns out had a badly injured shoulder but is going to be fine.
I told the vet, don't give him my info, let him pay it forward.

She said she knows him well and he likely will.

I like to think I do when I am able.
I probably need to find more opportunities to do this.

Dude has peace that his best friend is in good shape.
 
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SixPapaCharlie said:
I am a dip**** but this is a true story. I pay it forward.

I was in line behind a guy at the vet 2 weeks ago.
He said his dog had been hurt and needed help.

Vet said X rays, exam, and likely pills would be $$$
The guy said "I lost my job so I will just keep an eye on him and if he looks like he is really hurting, I will bring him in but I can't really do all that. how much for just X ray?"
Vet says $$ the guy says "I'll go home and think if i can swing that"

He left.

I went to the counter and said "what kind of dog does that guy have?"
She says some breed, I have know idea.

I said "That's my favorite type of dog. Please call him and tell him his vet bill is covered"
I gave her $$$.

I got my dog her pills and went back to work.

The next day the vet calls and said "We called him and told him. He brought in his dog and was crying the whole time repeating "I have a guardian angel, I am going to find a way to return the favor when I get on my feet, or I will find a way to pay it forward"

I don't really buy into signs, and a lot of things but I heard the price and heard he wasn't in a position to help his buddy.
I kept thinking about how that wasn't going to put me in a bind and maybe that is why I was in line behind him.

His dog turns out had a badly injured shoulder but is going to be fine.
I told the vet, don't give him my info, let him pay it forward.

She said she knows him well and he likely will.

I like to think I do when I am able.
I probably need to find more opportunities to do this.

Dude has peace that his best friend is in good shape.
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That... is a very cool story. And I appreciate you sharing it. I know a lot of generous folks tend toward not talking about it or making any big deal about it.

You’re a good man, Charlie Brown.

I think this is one of the reasons our country Vet is so darn cheap. He charges nearly nothing for basic care on animals out here. Obviously if they get seriously hurt and he has to do surgery, he has to charge what he has to charge.

But he seems to keep his wellness care stuff just barely above his costs, if even that.

I’ve tried to tell him numerous times to charge us a bit more, something closer to what we’d pay in town, and then he could have a slush fund to help out families with hardships to keep their pet care up, and not neglect vaccinations and things, but he just smiles and takes his tiny fees.

Vaccinating my dogs for a year for everything isn’t even $100. The city vets with big fancy buildings and large staffs and all that, $100 would be a single visit for a single one of the dogs.

He does mostly large animal work and I think he just sees the basic health stuff for doggies, barn and house kitties, and other small pets as a service to the rural community. Super nice guy.

Anyway. Nicely done, sir.
 
Funny to read this... I was out hiking with some friends on the open space trails near my house a couple of weeks ago. Looked down, saw a dollar bill on the ground. Got closer, picked it up. Except it wasn't a one dollar bill.

It was a fifty. Yeah, fifty bucks in the middle of the trail. Damn. Not a fake. No one around. Kept an eye out the whole way home watching for anyone looking for something. Nope. What to do? Nothing identifying about it. Can't put a notice on Craigslist, seems pointless calling the cops. So, what to do?

Decided to pay it forward, and send it along with a note to my local Meals On Wheels. Seems the best option. And to complete the story; it's been on my desk for two weeks as I get around to writing and mailing the letter. Now that I've gone public, I'll absolutely HAVE to do that tomorrow morning! Thanks for the impetus, POA.

Edited to add: Yes, I did this the next day! Already got my thank you letter...
 
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TCABM said:
I’ve paid for meals for the people behind me before. Been on the receiving end, too.

I don’t just hand out money though. I’ve offered to buy food for the corner-standind window lickers before and been turned down, even though the sign says need $ for food.

So, chump don’t want no help, chump don’t get no help.
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I keep 8-10 # bags of dog food in the car. When I see someone on a corner with a sign and a dog, I'll hand them a bag of dog food. I've been tempted to print up cards with the address & phone number of the local shelters that allow pets.
 
I've had BOGO coupons in hand and offered the freebie to the person behind me. Never had a taker before, though.
 
Big fan. Love to do. Sometimes it will be a coffee or someone else’s meal. Sometimes a crazy tip. Try to keep it anonymous. Truly believe that paying it forward will help others that will help others. I’d like to think that while it may not be my direct help, but somewhere down the line it will make a real difference to someone.
 
Occasionally I like to pay for another person's or persons' meal in a restaurant. Before the waiter or waitress gives them their check I ask her to give it to me and that I will pay for it and not to tell them who did it. Sometimes randomly giving a person money if I 'feel' like I should.
 
asicer said:
I've had BOGO coupons in hand and offered the freebie to the person behind me. Never had a taker before, though.
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Have had that too. And the person even orders the item that had the BOGO. And then the person after that also orders it.

Or similar coupons that aren’t even BOGO. Just “Hey, want a dollar off on whatever you’re getting?”

People seem to always turn coupons down. Soooo strange. It’s like they think they’ll turn into the crazy cat lady with two hundred coupons at the checkout if they ever use one of the things. LOL.

It’s usually going to expire soon anyway, but they won’t take them. So weird.
 
I do it about once a month when I go thru the drive thru in my favorite coffee shop, never done in a gas station though
 
I often pay for groceries of the person behind me in the express lane. Some people just can’t underand the concept. I had one lady convinced It was an evil plot somehow and just plain refused. That’s sad.
 
Coffee shop and fast food only. Both give and receive. Happens more in the than the country for me.

Never at a gas pump...


Sent from my LG-TP260 using Tapatalk
 
denverpilot said:
But how do y’all feel about this whole thing when it’s a bunch of yuppie suburbanites buying each other over priced coffee? LOL.
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I know what you mean about suburbia and paying it forward, you won't be changing someone's life or anything, but look at it as just a nice gesture that will brighten someone's day and give them a fun story to tell at work.
 
My wife has had that happen many, many times in line at McDonald's and Starbucks. I've never had it happen.

A year ago or so a woman with a couple of kids in front of me in line at the grocery store had her credit card declined. She was embarrassed and flustered so as quick as I could I paid for it and told her, "That happens to me all the time, and I hate it." It was maybe $50, not even a blip on my radar, but I know it made a bad day for her just a little better. She seemed incredibly grateful.

But I've done similar things a couple of times for guys, once at Walmart and once at Burger King...it was like they couldn't have cared less. So I don't do that any more.
 
Was in Whatburger one morning about 3 am and a group of our county deputies came in. They were not quite ready to order, as one was still in the bathroom. I ordered, gave the manager my debit card and very quietly told her to put the deputies's meals on my card. When she brought my food, she handed me my card back with the receipt and told me that she had given me the same discount as the deputies get, since I paid for their meals. They sat down a table away and we had a good conversation. One of the guys asked why I had paid for them, and I told them it was a little payback for the ration of crap they had to take on their job and I thought they were under appreciated by most people. Was a good time for all of us and we all had smiles when we left.
 
Craig said:
Was in Whatburger one morning about 3 am and a group of our county deputies came in. They were not quite ready to order, as one was still in the bathroom. I ordered, gave the manager my debit card and very quietly told her to put the deputies's meals on my card. When she brought my food, she handed me my card back with the receipt and told me that she had given me the same discount as the deputies get, since I paid for their meals. They sat down a table away and we had a good conversation. One of the guys asked why I had paid for them, and I told them it was a little payback for the ration of crap they had to take on their job and I thought they were under appreciated by most people. Was a good time for all of us and we all had smiles when we left...later that week one of them pulled me over and handed me a ticket. I asked them if they had remembered the kind gesture I did for them the other night and the officer replied 'no sir, that trick isn't going to work on me.' I instantly regretted buying their meals...
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FTFY!

:p
 
I used to get access to Instant Fastpass ride tickets at Disneyland that basically allowed you to walk on any ride any time without waiting in the standby lines.

Often if we had some left over we would try and “spread the magic” and offer them to random people...totally free, no catch.

I gave up on doing that as at least 75% of the people would immeadly dismiss the offer thinking it was some kind of scam. It was kinda sad to see that was now the norm and expectation when someone was trying to do something good
 
Shawn said:
I gave up on doing that as at least 75% of the people would immeadly dismiss the offer thinking it was some kind of scam. It was kinda sad to see that was now the norm and expectation when someone was trying to do something good
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Yep, it is sad. My instinctual reaction now when a stranger comes up to me and starts talking about anything is that they're a panhandler about to tell me some sob story and want money. More times than not, before they get three words out of their mouth, I say something like, "In case you're asking for money, I don't carry cash on me." Which is true, I almost never carry cash on me, I always pay for stuff with credit cards.

I didn't start doing that until I lived in the Bay Area, where the homeless and panhandler problem is of epic proportions. Probably 99% of the time in the Bay Area when a stranger walks up to you, it's to ask for money, which is why I started shutting them down as soon as they started telling me their sob story.

When I moved back to Colorado, I was amazed at how it's spread here, too. When I lived here in the 90's, I rarely saw people standing around wanting handouts. Now, they're everywhere. Several of the major intersections I take on my commute have people standing there with signs wanting a handout.

I'll give to charities, and at church. But I don't give money to panhandlers. In fact, as horrible as it sounds, I pretty much ignore them now and just drive/walk right on by (damn, that sounds horrible).
 
LoneAspen said:
I'll give to charities, and at church. But I don't give money to panhandlers. In fact, as horrible as it sounds, I pretty much ignore them now and just drive/walk right on by (damn, that sounds horrible).
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Nope. I'll never give to a pan handler. I've known more than one person who did it for a living, and were not homeless. Not even close. I don't even feel a little bit bad about it.
 
Right after we moved to Ocean City Maryland we went to a local diner just north of town. I guess we had been there a few times, great food and service. This one morning we sat and waited for our check, it never came. I flagged the waitress down and asked for our check, she said it was paid for.....I immediately had that stuck in stupid look on my face and so did my bride. When what she said registered we thanked her and asked her to thank whoever paid for our food. I almost felt embarrassed, we certainly didn't need that but after some thought appreciated the kind gesture for exactly what it was, an act of kindness.

We went up to the register and asked if we could pay that kind gesture forward and we got the same blank look we had on our face. I asked for the manager and Mary and I decided to pay $50 towards a family or two's breakfast. The manager thanked me and said there are people that come in here that could use the help and our offer was generous. It was the least we could do.

That day left an impression on me and now Mary and I will pay for any police or members of the service, totally anonymous. Its a great feeling just doing that for someone, especially our LEO's and service folks. I consider our lives to be very blessed. We try and volunteer when we can and donate to animal shelters and still fly for MAESSR.

I recently started training dogs with Veterans at US Kennels. A great organization that saves two lives, a rescue dog and a Veteran, "one paw at a time".
30572321_878279395714121_2557196731737440256_n.jpg
 
I was behind a guy in line at Wendy's and watched him try to help the lady in front of him.

She had ordered her lunch, probably $6-$8 worth, and handed the cashier a card. Declined. Try another card - declined. Try a debit card - not enough funds. Try another debit card - not enough funds. Then she said, "I'll be right back" and headed to her car. The guy behind her pulled out a $10 to pay for her lunch, but she never came back.

I'm sure I've been scammed a time or two, but so what, that's my own problem.

It's been a long time since anyone's asked me for money (other than my Nigerian prince friend that I am happy to help). The last time I remember, there was a guy at my gas station telling me he was late for work and needed some gas money. I said, "Sorry, I don't have any cash today." I didn't feel sorry, especially since the same guy had give me the same story at the same gas station a week earlier.
 
If there's a cop in front of me in a drive thru when I get to the speaker box, i usually tell the cashier that their meal is on me. Also, if i see military in uniform at a bar, I will usually send a beer their way
 
TCABM said:
I’ve offered to buy food for the corner-standind window lickers before and been turned down, even though the sign says need $ for food.
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I do that. We get a lot of pan handlers here with signs saying, "hungry, please help" or "Going to California to start a new job". I offer to buy food and so far every single one has declined.

Outside of Walmart I once watched a fairly clean cut guy as he held a sign that said, "Please help, stranded. God Bless".

It was nearly dark, so I watched to see what he would do. At dark, he picked up the small back pack at his feet, folded his sign, and then walked across the parking lot to a motor home that probably cost more than my house..!!!!

Once at the airport, a couple military helicopters landed. 3 guys on each one. They were flying the 'copters back from NTC. They inquired about getting something to eat, so I said follow me. We jumped in a van and I took them to Blake's Lottaburger, since one guy requested that. I told the girl to charge it all to me. They got their food to go and we went back to the airport.

Joke on me, when we got back to the airport there was 3 more helicopters.!!!! I took them to get hamburgers, and of course, when we get back there is 3 more helicopters..!!!

I asked if there are anymore coming, and I was told no, this is it....:lol::lol:
 
My grandmother, who is in her 90s and uses a walker now, was waiting in the gate area to board a commercial airline flight. The gate agent came up to her and said a first class passenger wanted to trade seats with her. The gate agent gave her the new boarding pass and grandma got to fly up front. Whoever did it remained anonymous. I thought that was really cool.
 
Hi everyone.
Yes, I think that it is not uncommon to do that.
Every day I look for something I can do for someone without asking for anything in return.
A couple of days ago an elderly gentleman, 90"s? was having a difficult time installing his windshield wipers, at an Auto Zone store, and was was very happy when I asked him if I can help, and was very appreciative.
One day , about a month ago at Von's a young lady just ahead of me, had a credit card that did not go trough, apparently her parents just set it up for her and she did not initialize / activate it. She only purchased food, no drinks.. I told the cashier to put it on my card and she kept saying no I can get it activated... and wanted to know where to send me the money, it was only around $11.00. I told her to do the same for someone else when she can afford it.
There have been many things that other people did for me, over the years, that I appreciated, and they did not ask for anything in return.
 
ColoPilot said:
My grandmother, who is in her 90s and uses a walker now, was waiting in the gate area to board a commercial airline flight. The gate agent came up to her and said a first class passenger wanted to trade seats with her. The gate agent gave her the new boarding pass and grandma got to fly up front. Whoever did it remained anonymous. I thought that was really cool.
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Wow - now THAT was cool, and what a surprise for Grandma! That person definitely earned some good karma points that day!
 
ColoPilot said:
My grandmother, who is in her 90s and uses a walker now, was waiting in the gate area to board a commercial airline flight. The gate agent came up to her and said a first class passenger wanted to trade seats with her. The gate agent gave her the new boarding pass and grandma got to fly up front. Whoever did it remained anonymous. I thought that was really cool.
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First class passenger thought they could get their SO upgraded and failed.

SO said “You’re not sitting up there without me!”

LOL.

I try not to be cynical but I’ve seen that one happen in person. :)
 
Military in uniform, law enforcement, and families which include well-behaved children (becoming a rarity) in a restaurant are candidates for my wife and I to treat to a meal, anonymously, of course.
I have numerous panhandler stories, but will spare everyone. Like mentioned earlier in the thread, I may offer food, or a bottle of water, but I will never give cash to potentially support an alcohol or drug habit. Yes, folks can hit a rough patch (I did), but if you can stand on the corner holding a sign, then you are qualified to hold one for the pizza place or the pawn shop . . . jus' sayin' . . .

Sent from my Note 8 using Tapatalk
 
I see a lot of you are buying for police, fire, EMS and military. I have been on the receiving end of that one several times myself, so this last winter I chose to buy a few Starbucks gift cards and carry with me at work. I would give these out to good people who were having a bad day, such as the soccer mom who hit the ditch in a blizzard and damaged her own car in order not to hit the idiot who had stopped in the middle of the road....on a hill....in the middle of a curve..
 
FlySince9 said:
My favorite is paying for tolls for people behind me...
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I used to do that when I was driving trucks and someone let me cut in front of them to get into a manned toll lane. This was back in the old days when some lanes had baskets into which drivers of vehicles with two axles could throw exact change, but vehicles with more than two axles had to go through a manned lane and pay the toll collector because the toll was higher. The tolls were less than a buck, but it was a gesture of gratitude.

Other than that, I've paid for food for people who looked like they couldn't, but that's about it.

Rich
 
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